Isro moon mission

the moon is covered in water. And not just in the shadowed, polar craters where scientists suspected it, but all over. Water on the moon--that has to be great news, right?NASA's LCROSS mission last March, I noted that its purpose was not really in determining whether the moon had water, but in determining how the water was distributed. Even though LCROSS is still scheduled to smash into the Moon's surface in a couple weeks, it now seems likely that it will only confirm this week's findings: that there are trace amounts of water everywhere on the moon. For human exploration, highly concentrated deposits of ice would be a much more useful distribution. has been a big proponent). Even with the possibility of big deposits, though, I was always skeptical that mining lunar water ice could ever be efficient enough to be worthwhile. Now, it seems unlikely that any usable amount of water can be extracted from the surface. Geologist Robert Clark estimated that one ton of lunar soil might yield … [Read more...] about Why the Evidence of Water on the Moon is Bad News

This is part of IEEE Spectrum's Special Report: Why Mars? Why Now? Last November, India reached the moon, the fifth country to do so after the United States, Russia, Japan, and China. Its Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft went into a polar orbit 100 kilometers above the lunar surface early in the month; a week later it sent a probe to the surface, the probe snapping pictures and spectroscopically analyzing the superthin lunar atmosphere. It disintegrated on impact, but not before accomplishing its final task: depositing an Indian flag. Incorporating scientific instruments from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the government of Bulgaria, the US $100 million Chandrayaan mission is helping scientists better understand the moon’s topography and the distribution of chemicals and minerals on its surface. The orbiter’s camera, which can resolve surface objects 5 meters across, has sent back thousands of stunning images. One of the mission’s chief goals is to search for water. … [Read more...] about India Joins League of Lunar Nations

As China’s star has risen, there’s been speculation about whether its expanding space program will trigger a space race with the United States. After all, Shenzhou spacecraft have twice carried taikonauts to orbit and back, and they might in principle support the manned moon mission that the Chinese claim they’ll carry out by 2026–and even, maybe, by 2017, one year before NASA now foresees a return to the lunar surface. Still, the next-generation CZ-5 Long March launchers necessary for a manned moon mission by China remain unfunded, and, in general, its space program has so far only repeated decades-old American and Russian achievements. Meanwhile, attracting far less attention and operating on a far smaller budget, that other rising Asian giant, India, has also been ramping up its space program–and it is developing some novel, promising approaches. This spring, India’s then president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam–a colorful scientist-technologist … [Read more...] about India’s Space Ambitions Soar

Over the past half century, we’ve blasted a bevy of scientific instruments into the unforgiving vacuum of space in an effort to better understand our cosmos. From the first grainy Mariner images of Mars to stunning closeups of Saturn’s moons and stately rings, these pioneering probes have transmitted invaluable data back to us Earthlings from millions of miles away. And while we may have recently lost the stalwart Saturnian orbiter, Cassini, there are dozens of future space missions on the docket for the next decade.To help you keep track of all these efforts, we’ve listed the most important and exciting missions slated to launch over the next ten years — as well as a few notable flybys performed by spacecraft already in cosmic transit. With a great bit of luck, a boatload of money, and pinch of can-do spirit; these initiatives will further pull back the curtain on our quirky and wonderfully mysterious universe.November 30 – Chang’e … [Read more...] about Prepare for liftoff! 17 upcoming space missions worth getting excited about

Informatics Those motivations help explain why India, a poor country of 1.2 billion, even invests in a space program when so many of its people lack access to proper toilets, electricity and health care.For one, boosting its space business has always been a key selling point of the country's program.More than half of the world's missions to Mars so far have failed. In proving it can pull off a complex space mission, India becomes one of the world's few reliable ferrymen to the stars. That can attract investors, commercial launch orders and customers to hire Indian rockets and satellites for their scientific research.But, the program also is a source of pride and motivation for the country's burgeoning ranks of young professionals. India's robust scientific and technical education system has already produced millions of software programmers, engineers and doctors who have helped grow the country's growing middle class."Mars, of course, captures the imagination of the world. What better … [Read more...] about Mars Mission Opens India for Space Business